Even at spring training, Padres All-Star closer Heath Bell is having fun and saying what’s on his mind.
— Earnie Grafton / Union-Tribune

HEATH BELL'S FIVE BEST

Clubhouse toys

1. Remote-control helicopters

2. Remote-control tanks that fire pellets

3. Segway

4. Motorized beer cooler/riding cart

5. Water-balloon launcher.

Clubhouse stunts

1. Carrying the water-balloon launcher to the top of the Western Metal building and firing at the ground crew.

2. Flying remote-control planes toward the roof of Minute Maid Park in Houston and Chase Field in Phoenix.

3. Riding Segways with Kevin Kouzmanoff at Petco Park and sliding them across the concourses.

4. Flicking sunflower seeds at security workers and fans from the bullpen at Petco Park.

5. Buzzing teammates with remote-control helicopters.

PEORIA, Ariz.  Heath Bell is a kid.

He knows it. He’s proud of it.

“I’m more a kid than an adult person,” he said recently. “My father once told me, ‘You’re as old as you feel, stay young.’ I’m a responsible 10-year-old.”

Bell is joking, of course … sort of.

All of which makes him something of a mystery man in the game of baseball.

“I’m not what I am on the field,” Bell said. “People around the league who don’t know me, see me differently — as this mean, intense, say-anything guy whose something of hardhead.”

Teammates view Bell as friendly, funny and sometimes too outspoken for his own good.

“C.Y. (Chris Young) and Eck (David Eckstein) are my filters,” joked Bell. “They’ve told me to be careful with what I say. Honestly, I probably should have them standing next to me when I’m talking.”

Bell says even his own family has its moments with him.

“My oldest daughter (Jasmyne) tells me, ‘Just because you’re an All-Star doesn’t make you cool,’ ” Bell said. “And my wife (Nicole) tells me that ‘you’re not that good … in three or four seasons you’ll be done.’ ”

Funny lines. Lines said with a big smile. But lines that drew notice from several nearby — and new to the Padres — teammates.

That’s Heath Bell.

Yes, he led the National League in saves last season (42). Yes, he was an All-Star last year. And, yes, he’s making $4 million this season.

Beyond that?

“I’m just a guy,” he said. “I love my family and kids. I love to do fun, and some would say funny, things. Biggest thing is, I’m just a fan. If I weren’t playing baseball, I’d be watching it.

“But I am playing baseball. So I’m going to play while being me. I say what I feel. I don’t have a filter. I talk sometimes like I’m still a kid. Some people take that as being cocky and arrogant. But I’m neither. I’m Heath Bell.”

And that might mean saying something outlandish.

Or, flying a remote-control helicopter into the rafters of the roof at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

Or, launching water balloons off the roof of the Western Metal Supply Co. building at Petco Park.

Or, riding a motorized beer cooler across the outfield grass at Petco.

Or, and this could be the kicker, taking his children to school while riding a motorized chair through the neighborhood.